Customer Reviews

Focus

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My "musical" life I mean.. I bought this album 5 years ago.. and I still listen to it more often than some i bought recently.. These guys are genius.. really.. this was pure inovation back in the '90 and it still unique.. Sean Malone's bass is incridibly well played.. (just like in all of his other projects)

Here is a small list of other projects/bands these guys played in

Death (of course)
Gordian Knot
Anomaly
Aghora
Portal (hmm i guess this is part of Cynic)
Sean Malone
Atheist
and more..

At The Gates: Terminal Spirit Disease
Death: Leprosy
Pain of Salvation: The Perfect Element
Frantic Bleep: Fluctuadmission
Peccatum: Lost in Reverie
Darkane: Rusted Angel
Celtic Frost: To Mega Therion
Burzum: Filosophem
Pink Floyd: The Wall
Cynic: Focus
Candiria: Surrealistic Madness
Opeth: EVERYTHING
Exhumed: Slaughtercult
Carcass: Heartwork

This is a good beginning or intermediate start to proper prog/death/black/gore metal education.

*****

The 90's were certainly the apex for death metal. Between the years of 1990 and 1999 death metal evolved from an un-melodic, testosterone fueled, raw form of metal to a genre that matured and began incorporating prog rock, jazz, electronica, and even classical into the music.

Death kicked the door down with the release of "Human" in '91. At the time it was easily the most ambitious death metal album ever and helped pave the way for a new breed of death metal bands that were actually intelligent as well as incredibly brutal. '93 saw the release of Sepultura's masterpiece, "Chaos A.D." and Death's brilliant follow up to "Human", called "Individual Thought Patterns". In '94 Tiamat's "Wildhoney" broke new grounds in death metal by experimenting with psychedelic, ethereal, and even beautiful Pink Floyd-esque soundscapes and melodies that showed death metal didn't have to be ALL about pure aggression.

'95 was unquestionably the biggest year death metal had ever seen. Meshuggah's "Destroy Erase Improve" literally shattered the concept of what "progressive death metal" could be with its mathematical riffs, bass, drums and vocals. At The Gates "Slaughter of the Soul", Dark Tranquility's "The Gallery" and In Flames' "The Jester's Race" all broke new melodic ground, with each featuring a unique take on the genre and all being undisputed masterpieces.

But despite all of that, perhaps the pinnacle of the decade was Cynic's 1993 stunning tour de force "Focus". "Focus" was unlike anything that had come before or after it. With one album, Cynic created a sound and music that was so original and so staggeringly amazing that no death metal band has equaled it since.

"That's a pretty big claim" you say... well, yes it is, but it's all very true. Cynic threw in everything but the kitchen sink on "Focus", seamlessly melding progressive death metal, distorted jazz riffs, solos, and often drumming. Then came the biggest innovation: the interplay between the computerized voice that "sings" half the lyrics and the more traditional death metal growls.

But all of that wouldn't matter if the songs themselves weren't good. And the songs on "Focus" AREN'T good, they're amazing! It just takes one listen to "Veil of Maya" before you realize how truly talented & original these guys are. Through the entire album, there are NO weak spots whatsoever.

That being said, picking a favorite song or moment is almost an exercise in futility. "Veil of Maya" is perhaps the catchiest song on the album. "Celestial Voyage" is beautiful, heavy, and complex. "I'm But a Wave Too..." is perhaps MY personal favorite. It builds on ethereal, jazzy guitars (one clean, one distorted, and one using feedback like sounds to create texture) before exploding into a series of mind-blowing riffs. "Textures" is a great instrumental that never loses 'focus' (hehe) and will keep your attention throughout. The closer, "How Could I", is perhaps the most varied song on the album, shifting effortlessly between styles to create a perfect portrait of the entire album.

It's such a shame this was the band's only album. I can only imagine where they could've taken this fascinating sound with future releases. I seriously can't recommend this album to metal fans enough. Also, if you're a fan of "Focus", check out all the other albums I've listed in the review, along with Opeth's entire catalog (they happen to be my favorite band of all time). A good start would be "My Arms, Your Hearse" or "Still Life". And I can't forget to mention Death's "The Sound of Perseverance".

May metal be as spectacular in the 21st century as it was in the last decade of the 20th.

... IS WHAT YOU WANT. FIND IT AT ALL COSTS.

I saw them with Cannibal Corpse in 95. They are truely masters of metal. the guitarist and drummer played with Death. The bassist with Pestilence and Athiest. Mixes jazz with Death Metal. If you know what your listening to then you will love them. Not for the simple minded.

... join Cynic in their quest!

Jason Gobel, Paul Masvidal, Sean Reinert and Sean Malone. Four incredibly talented artists who joined forces to create one of the most ground-breaking, influential, impressive and definitive albums of the past decade. Even though Focus turned out to be a one-off album, its effect on the ever-changing ang growing death metal genre was beyond any sort of imagination. The quartet's approach to songwriting meant to integrate their jazz influences with highly complex death metal riffs. This also caused an argument claiming the success of Cynic was due to its non-metal elements. I personally think the band's peak was mainly because of its unique approach to compositions all of which offer rich jazz-fusion motives combined with the heaviness and rawness of heavy metal. It is an amalgam of a variety of musical and artistic aesthetics and Focus certainly paved the way for numerous other bands utilising the jazz influences in their death metal-oriented bands. Basically this album spawned the entire Florida death metal scene along with some other acts including Nocturnus and Atheist. Regardless of what genre it really belongs to, Focus has already taken its place among the most influential albums of all times.

The album contains eight songs one of which is instrumental ("Textures"). It spans over 36 minutes and is considered a rather short record but it's very full and there is not a single riff or filler second on it. Paul Masvidal's vocals being processed during certain moments may be a deterring factor, especially for those who can't listen to harsh vocals, however it is one of the main elements on this piece of work that makes it so original and expressive. Moreover the vocals are delicately placed over textural layers of rich melodic and rhythmic patterns and are utilised in a very held-back style. They are not about expressing single-minded fury but more like a sixth instrument. Same goes for the addition of keyboards; obviously the keys serve to set the colour of the tunes rather than dominating and diverting the direction of the compositions.

The booklet describes the meaning of "Cynic" as a member of a ancient Greek philosophers who taught that virtue constitutes happiness and that self control is the essential part of the virtue. Thus, much of the lyrics focus on these subject themes making unified statements. The band's label Roadrunner described them as "the most famous underground band yet to record an album" and this really showed when Focus saw the light of day. Unfortunately the (former) band members decided to go their own ways and took roles in forming other awesome bands like Gordian Knot, Portal, Aghora, Pestilence, Atheist, Anomaly, etc), and there are no plans for a Cynic reunion at this point. I may be wrong, but I don't think a reunion (even if it's with the original members) wouldn't do much cause it would be more because of the public demand rather than the guys' own will.

I just realised how difficult it has been to try to describe the piece of music on this disc, although it's been part of my collection for years. Focus represents the artists' attempt at open expression of emotion. I am lucky to say that I am open to the uniqueness of these songs, hopefully so are you.

One of the best in this genre. If you like like Athiest You will love this. Melodic vocals coupled with harsh death vocals. Crazy bass lines and sweet guitar riffs. Also check out Sadus

Cynic is the brain child of Sean Malone. Sean Malone portrays much of his talent on this record, but he appears to be holding back to a certaint degree.
Over all its an excellent album, but only has one real jewel in it (Veil of Maya).
Also the lyric basis is based around a questionable "enlightenist" movement which could scare off a few listeners with its very "one world order" veiws that is displayed lyrically on this album.
Programing seems to stand out, though is repetitive in nature. But over all its good music and a taste of Sean Malones talent & bass work.

Focus is one of those albums that I'd been interested in for quite a whle, but still a bit leery of it in some ways. Synth vocals and Jazz fusion death metal? Hmm But a couple of weeks back I ordered it on a pretty random whim, assuming that it would probably be quite good, but not live up to the hype. Well, I was wrong. Personally, I think this album is better than advertised, and one of the finest albums I've ever heard.

First, I'll go over a few very minor quibbles that I have. I don't really care for how the synth/robo vocals sound. However, they work very well in the context of the album and turn out to be utterly necessary for it. (though, I think they could've achieved a similar effect using a different sort of vocals, perhaps distant and heavily echoed, or maybe multitracked vocals could've done about the same thing, and sounded a bit more appealing by themselves.) That and Reinert's infrequent use of some synth drums doesn't really work, but they're rare enough that I don't mind too much.

That little bit aside, this is some truly great stuff. They death vox they use are excellent, which are a sort of mid-ranged, hissy roar, which I always prefer to your ultra-low rumble that lots of death metal bands use.(Though I should note that other than those vocals, there really isn't anything death metalish about this band.) The occasional female vocals they use are pretty cool too, and perhaps could've been used a little more. Still, it's the instrumentation which really shines on this album. Most metal bands make the music sound heavy by simply stacking the instruments on top of each other, but not so for Cynic. They weave about constantly, and almost never simply mirror one another, with each instrument adding something new and individual to the sound as a whole, rather than just filling it out. Yet it all flows perfectly, particularly the 2 rhythm guitars which always interlock with astounding precision. Critics love to point out how Masvidal, Gobel, Malone and Reienrt aren't as technically accomplished as so and so, and I guess they're right, but these guys are still pretty amazing, and more importantly, nobody plays together like them. It's really a tragedy that they broke up.(Though at least Malone and Reinert have stayed plenty active.) Despite the instrumental brilliance of the album as a whole, I don't find the solos to be that great in general. They're good, but they aren't my favorite. However, they tend to be fairly short, and the other instruments don't slow down or let up during the leads, so there's always plenty to listen to. And despite all this dense instrumentation, they usually give you something to cling to, even if it isn't necessarily a chorus.

Only 8 tracks are found here, but they're all very solid, most of them brilliant. 'Veil of Maya' is one of the best, and perhaps the most dynamic piece, with an even more extensive use the spacy, psych-jazz interludes found throughout the album. The closer 'How Could I' is by far my favorite track on the album. The haunting and usually distant growled repetition of the title really sticks with you, and the final solo break is fantastic, easily my favorite on the album. Anyway, describing the individual tracks is pretty pointless. They are all great.

If you like metal that is dense and intricately played, you owe it to yourself to pick this up. I personally consider it a part of the very upper tier of metal albums, alongside Death's Sound of Perseverance, Metallica's Master of Puppets, and Emperor's Prometheus... Truly great stuff. END REVIEW NOW.

The above comment was my first reaction to hearing this oddity (and I thought there weren't many things anymore that can still do that). This is a work that's impossible to classify and at least difficult to describe. At first it sounds like just another virtuosic speed-metal album, leaving one to wonder what the fuss is about. Then the subtleties start coming out; inventive harmonic tricks, quiet subtlety seamlessly blended in among the thrashing, a group chemistry that goes beyond mere unison lines. That's when it kicks in that Cynic was no ordinary metal group. There's a lot to hear beneath the surface, and I've been continually discovering new layers to this music the further I go.

For starters, the basic description of Focus I see on this page is that it's a combination of jazz and death metal. That's partly true - it does have passages of hardcore fury that can twist sheet metal into a pretzel, expertly contrasted with fiery vocals and a softer dynamic that's no less accomplished - but that's hardly an accurate description of the whole Focus experience. There's something indefinable that goes beyond just the mix of ingredients and makes it a still-fresh and still-intriguing listen. It's a mere 36 minutes, but even that seems just as it should be; any shorter and it would seem incomplete, any longer and it would become overwhelming. There's a whole lot to digest as it is. The shifting time signatures and super-tight unison lines are as accomplished as Rush or Dream Theater. The haunting atmospherics fill the whole room in an ever-shifting cocoon of sound. The contrast of lightness and heaviness reminds me of Opeth or King Crimson, but this is still a different kettle of fish - the soft parts are of a subtler and jazzier nature than Opeth's, but busier and less ambient than KC's kind of soundscaping. Everything is catchy, but in a weird and offbeat way.

The lyrics are delivered alternately in an irritating serpentine growl (my least favorite aspect, and it'll be a slight obstacle to get past for anyone who doesn't like death-growls) and in a robot-like processed voice that comes out sounding all metallic. The lyrics are much more picturesque and poetic than you'd expect from just about any metal band.. or at least they make for some nice reading in the liner notes, even if the printed words bear only a marginal resemblance to the grating gibberish that raspy voice vomits out. But it's the music that makes this such an intense listening experience. Look past the cheesy intro to "Veil of Maya" and you'll be taken on a trip from hardcore thrash ("I'm But a wave To...," "Uroboric Forms") to spooky ambience ("The Eagle Nature") to wonderfully tasty instrumental tones (the very aptly titled "Textures"). Amid the virtuosity and speed-whirling, it's the subtlety that sets Cynic apart from everyone else.

Pretty great cover art, too. If your taste in metal goes beyond the outright extreme, you should probably be happy with this. If not.. leave it and come back after a while. This definitely takes some getting used to, but the most satisfying music usually does.